The secret lives

Just after the successful staging of his play, Kundiman Party, playwright Floy Quintos has his curator’s hat on once more, carefully putting together pieces that will go into an exhibit titled “Anting-anting: The Secret Soul of the Filipino”. The exhibit will be featured in one of the major museums of Paris, Musee du Quay Branly-Jacques Chirac in March 2019. Quintos has held a similar exhibit in 2015 at the Yuchengco museum titled Pinoy Power Packs: Agimats, Anting-antings, and the Stories they Tell. While his main audience was composed of Filipinos, the challenge this time is to make it easily understandable to a predominantly French crowd. It is the story that takes the spotlight, says Quintos about this latest exhibit. His fascination with these amulets started almost eight years ago, when a young, street-smart, anting-anting believer named Michael randomly entered his antique shop Deus in Ermita and sold him some pieces. “‘Sir, bumibili ba kayo ng … [Read more...] about Floy Quintos brings the secret story of Filipino anting-antings to Paris

By Bruce DeMara Entertainment Reporter Thu., Aug. 2, 2018 Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood Documentary starring Scotty Bowers. Directed by Matt Tyrnauer. Opens Friday at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. 87 minutes. 18A Who knew that history could be such titillating fun? Because make no mistake, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood and the book, Full Service, that inspired it deserve to be treated at least semi-seriously in terms of the era they describe. Article Continued Below Scotty Bowers, the engaging and surprisingly spry nonagenarian (he still climbs up on roofs) and retired procurer to the stars, has certainly heard from plenty of outraged critics — including from some standing in line to buy his book — about how he has maligned the departed or, worse, destroyed their preciously constructed images of Hollywood heroes past. Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer gives us plenty of Scotty, with the film opening at a 90th-birthday … [Read more...] about Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood’s racy tales of the stars are delicious — and credible

Having sworn into office the world’s oldest elected leader, Malaysia has taken the definition of active ageing to a whole new level. At 93, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is setting new benchmarks. After all, if a nonagenarian can clock in a full day of work, what’s anyone else’s excuse? While the ways in which people age aren’t mutually exclusive, Malaysians now have an opportunity to challenge preconceived ideas about ageing, says Assoc Prof Dr Noran Mohd Hairi from Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. “Our new PM and his wife and the entire Council of Eminent Persons are challenging society’s outdated beliefs. They are changing the conversation on ageing and encouraging us to rethink the negative stories we sometimes tell ourselves and each other about growing old. “They inspire us and show us the ability to live longer is not impossible. Their healthy lives are a great achievement, and this … [Read more...] about The secret to being alive as you age

On May 8, President Donald Trump declared that the United States was withdrawing from the nuclear accord with Iran. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed by Iran, the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany on July 14, 2015, was meant to freeze Iran’s ability to produce fissile material for 10 to 15 years in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions and United Nations arms embargoes imposed on Iran. However, the nuclear deal with Iran was never going to achieve what its promoters claimed. Why? Because it did not address the centerpiece of Iran’s ambition to become a nuclear power: the comprehensive nuclear-weapons program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. The dailyReport Must-reads from across Asia - directly to your inbox Initiated in 1984, this secret program proceeds in military installations that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cannot access. Iran’s civilian nuclear program, led by the Atomic Energy … [Read more...] about The secret nuclear weapons program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

source Courtesy of Monique Jacques Photojournalist Monique Jaques first visited the Gaza Strip in 2012 to document Operation Pillar of Defense – one of many conflagrations between Israel and the military wing of Hamas. While there, Jaques was struck by the story the media wasn’t telling – that of the everyday lives of Palestinians living in Gaza. Jaques befriended many Palestinian women in Gaza and documented their lives over the next five years to show an untold perspective on the conflict. Her photos have been collected in a book, called Gaza Girls, released earlier this year. Photojournalist Monique Jaques first visited the Gaza Strip to document Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, one of the many conflagrations between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza. While there, she was struck by the dissonance between what she saw on the ground … [Read more...] about 20 moving photos reveal the secret lives of women growing up in Gaza — one of the most contested pieces of land in the world